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Leisha took an object from her pocket.

It gleamed under the moonlight.

“!”

I stumbled back, nearly falling to the ground.

Watching me, Leisha chuckled.

“Scared of something like this? I thought you were cautious, but you must be a bit of a coward.”

The object she took out was now on her face. It was a pair of glasses.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I stood up.

With a small smirk, Leisha pulled out a small note and waved it.

“…”

“This note here gives a summary about you. Want to hear it?”

Her eyes glowed a deep red.

Could stating that summary be a form of [Restriction] that makes her stronger?

If that’s the case, it’d be better not to listen. Every restriction she meets will only make her stronger.

But I don’t have the power to stop it.

The atmosphere was clearly under her control.

She would keep growing stronger, maintaining her hold.

That’s the tricky part about dealing with Leisha.

She started reading the note, tracing her finger over it.

“Classification: Mage.”

She glanced at me to gauge my reaction and continued.

“But you use the Earth element. That’s quite unusual.”

Does she want an answer?

I thought I might have an opportunity to probe into her client.

“Isn’t that pretty well-known information by now? There must be plenty of people willing to sell info on someone like me.”

“Puh. Well, that confidence of yours is noted here too.”

“Seems like someone’s been watching me pretty closely.”

“Could be. You mainly use a weapon that looks like a club. What’s that about?”

“I wouldn’t share that with an enemy, would I?”

Leisha shrugged and went on.

“And this isn’t all. Caution: carries a sturdy small shield. Beware of physical attacks, including body slams.”

Sssss—

She grinned playfully and lowered the note.

“Think that’s enough for me to know about you?”

“Seems like it.”

—Whoosh!

With a snap of her fingers, the note crumbled to dust and vanished instantly, even faster than a cigarette ash.

Her intensity seemed to have grown; she was now at least 10% stronger.

So, it was a restriction.

‘A restriction to say everything she knows about her opponent, perhaps?’

To think she grows this much stronger with so little information.

It’s truly a cheat-like technique.

But at the same time…

‘Seems doable.’

I let out a slight grin.

The reason was simple.

If that’s all she’s got on me, it means she hasn’t fully figured me out.

‘Plus, there’s her client info.’

One thing was clear: the person wasn’t close enough to know me that well.

So it’s likely someone I recently made an enemy of.

The prince came to mind.

—Step.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Leisha took a step toward me.

The hint of unease on her face, likely from me knowing her name, had transformed into confidence.

“I’ll give you a special choice.”

“What kind of choice?”

I answered, stepping back.

Dust rose from where I had fallen.

Leisha stepped into that spot.

“How you die.”

“That’s quite a privilege.”

“Yes, I prefer younger men.”

She smirked with a cynical smile and extended her index finger from the hand holding the note.

“So choose. The first option: quickly and cleanly, so you don’t even realize it.”

Despite the discomfort, she didn’t remove her other hand from her pocket.

Instead, she extended her second finger.

“Or, slowly, enjoying the suffocation along with the pleasure.”

It was hard to keep observing her.

That smug, enchanting smile radiated charm.

Her red hair and tight leather clothing demanded attention.

It was intentional.

All of it designed to prevent me from observing her closely.

Because I knew, I could avoid getting caught up in her game.

“If you don’t respond, I’ll go with the second option, you know? Let’s have some fun.”

— Shink.

An intangible force swept past me.

The chill that seized me was intense enough to make my life flash before my eyes.

The storage cabinet in the hallway was sliced in half.

Thud!

Her overwhelming power.

“This is as much as I’ll use.”

Her smile, brimming with confidence like a razor blade, and her stance, with one hand still in her pocket, were equally imposing.

Ultimately, there was only one way to handle Leisha.

Find her restrictions and break the conditions that trigger them.

Looking up at her sly, fox-like smile, I asked.

“No other choices?”

“Other choices?”

She asked, tilting her head in mock curiosity.

Standing in the spot where I had fallen, I matched her smile.

“How about an option where you lose a wrist?”

I subtly moved my finger, triggering the ground I had already enchanted.

— Crunch!

The Ether I had prepared shot from the ground, slicing cleanly through her right hand.

“Huh?”

She belatedly pulled her hand away, but it was too late.

Thud.

Her severed hand rolled onto the floor, still clutching the note with my supposed weaknesses.

“Seems like none of it was accurate. Do your research properly next time.”

Whether it’s Ether or a combination attack using [Leap], I doubt she could block it even if she knew.

“Ugh.”

Simultaneously, the blood flowing from her severed wrist stopped.

Did she use magic to cauterize it?

Whatever it was, I had to maintain the upper hand I’d seized.

“Lupina!”

“Yes!”

Lupina threw a black rope toward Leisha’s severed wrist, snatching it and flinging it down the opposite hall.

“You damn brats!”

Leisha finally pulled her left hand out of her pocket in anger…

— Crack!

With a twisted sound, she coughed up blood.

“Cough!”

The meaning was clear.

One of the restrictions Leisha had placed on herself had been broken.

She wiped the blood from her lips and muttered.

“Damn it… Ian. Go report back. I’ll finish this and follow shortly.”

“Understood.”

“And get me another hand ready.”

“Understood.”

The man beside her disappeared.

Leisha’s eyes glinted darkly as she looked back at me.

“I was being cute with you little brats, and you crossed the line?”

She cracked her remaining left hand, her gaze intense.

“How did you figure it out?”

“Are you talking about this?”

This time, I waved a piece of paper at her.

— ‘Central Hall Usage Rules of the Old Magic School.’

1. Walk softly with gentle steps.

   2. Avoid loud talking.

   3. Keep both hands visible at all times.

———

Leisha smirked incredulously.

“Sharp, aren’t you? How did you know?”

“Anyone could see the third rule was odd. And it was strange that this paper just flew over to me, like it was begging me to read it.”

“This is why I hate smart and perceptive ones.”

Tsk.

Leisha clicked her tongue and steadied her stance.

One of her three restrictions had been broken.

Her power was now effectively halved, yet her intimidating presence hadn’t diminished.

She was still a formidable force, having reached a high level of mastery.

Only after dismantling all three restrictions would I be able to truly defeat her.

“Playtime’s over, kid.”

Swoosh.

Leisha extended her remaining hand and murmured.

“Call of the Void.”

— Swirl!

Countless dark threads materialized around her.

“It’s the same energy as those disappearing corpses!”

Lupina shouted from behind.

That meant anyone struck by those dark lines would vanish without a trace.

Of course, she was no ordinary magician.

With this level of skill, she could easily be a final boss in any storyline.

Swoosh —

I gripped the Berserker’s Shield in my left hand and a blade forged from Lunar in my right.

This setup was ideal for defense.

Heup.

I took a deep breath and swung the Lunar blade and shield at the dark threads slowly filling the corridor.

— Crunch, Crunch.

The black lines tried to devour even the Lunar, but as soon as I imbued it with authority, they dissipated.

“How… How are you using Void energy… with aura? But that’s not mana…?”

Leisha mumbled, looking bewildered.

That, too, was an opening.

I sent a small burst of ether toward the note she held in her severed hand.

— Crackle!

With a slight tearing sound, the note was ripped apart.

“!”

Leisha’s eyes widened once more.

At the same time…

— Rrrip!

A loud tearing echoed down the corridor.

The unusually dark and oppressive atmosphere dissipated as a thin barrier surrounding the hallway shredded like paper.

“It was a spell! A technique using enchanted paper!”

Lupina exclaimed belatedly.

“How did you know?”

“I just had a hunch. It was way too dark here.”

“A hunch of 5-star level…”

Apologies to her, but it wasn’t merely a hunch.

This was basic knowledge when dealing with named assassins.

Darkness and gloom are common in the area-of-effect buff skills used by Void-attribute sorcerers.

They subtly impair the awareness of those within, cloaking the area in darkness.

‘Once I remembered what I knew about Leisha…’

Such tricks wouldn’t work.

— Rrrip!

As the last barrier dissipated, the darkened corridor was once again bathed in starlight and moonlight.

The surroundings grew visibly brighter, and at that moment…

— Thud-Thud-Thud-Thud-Thud!

I unleashed a flurry of ether needles, hidden in the moonlight, straight at Leisha.

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